Lot 346: MARRYAT, Francis S. (1826-1855). Mountains and Molehills, or Recollections of a Burnt Journal . London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855.

MARRYAT, Francis S. (1826-1855). Mountains and Molehills, or Recollections of a Burnt Journal . London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855. 8 o (220 x 142 mm). 24-page publisher's advertisements bound at end. 8 lithographed plates, numerous woodcuts in text. Original salmon cloth, most leaves unopened (spine chipped with some tears, hinges cracked, corners worn). Provenance : John Howard Cartland (armorial bookplate); Thomas W. Streeter (bookplate; his sale part V, Parke Bernet, 22 October 1968, lot 2788). FIRST EDITION of one of the best descriptions of life in the California mines. Marryat arrived in California in 1851 and worked at a quartz mine in Tuttletown in the summer and fall of that year. He writes vivid observations of saloons, fires, mining camps, mining techniques, bears, politics, and numerous other topics. Marryat's wry sense of humor is clearly evident throughout, especially in his choice of title, since he writes that his journal and drawings had been destroyed in one of the San Francisco fires. Cowan I p.150-151; Graff 2685; Howes M-299; Kurutz 429a; Sabin 44695; Streeter sale V: 2788 (this copy).